Burn Me
by Liz Hollow
Summary: Flint wants to see that fire in Dawn keep growing, but she has other plans. Dawn/Flint.


**Burn Me**

I remembered when I first met her. She was so young then, the chubby layers of flesh still crowning her face, her eyes innocent and wide. She pulled her hair back with a barrette, sweeping her dark bangs out of her face with little pink clips. The white scarf around her neck fell gracefully over her pink jacket, and I couldn't help but believe that the skirt under it was a little too short for someone her age. She couldn't have been more than twelve.

Honestly, I hoped to find someone else—someone older—walking into Sunyshore City. She didn't only look young, but she had cuts and bruises all over her legs, hands, and face, the only bits of her visible. _Weak_, was what I thought automatically, but as she walked closer, I could see her eyes. And she wasn't weak at all. She was determined.

I had heard rumors of a young girl who stopped Team Galactic and captured the legendary Pokémon Giratina. It immediately came into my mind that she could be that girl—hence, probably, the bruises and cuts and the determination. A girl like that could definitely set Volkner's heart ablaze. No problem.

"Yo!" I shouted, and the girl jumped; she hadn't even noticed me. I laughed, rubbing the back of my neck and smiling at her. She blushed, returning the smile with a soft giggle in her embarrassment. I had to admit, she was a cute little thing, embarrassed or otherwise. "Sorry. The name's Flint. I'm a member of the Elite Four."

The blush completely vanished from her face, and her dark eyes lit up with a new flare, practically on fire. "No way! You're really from the Elite Four? Wow! I'm Dawn, and I am _so_ honored to meet you!" She held out her hand, and I laughed again as she shook my hand so hard that she bounced. She kind of reminded me of myself when I was younger.

"Cool. Look, you seem like a tough Trainer, am I right?" I shoved my hands in my pockets down, and she blushed again, shrugging. "Oh, come on, don't be so modest. I can tell you've got the fire in you to handle anything. So, if you don't mind, I have a favor to ask of you. You're planning on challenging Sunyshore's Gym Leader, right?"

"Yeah, I am…" She nodded, showing me her case of badges. There was only one missing, and that was Volkner's. "The blackout was stopping me from coming here before, so I had to wait until it was all fixed. This is the last Gym I have left. Just the Beacon Badge, and I'll be on the road to the Sinnoh Elite Four."

She put her case of badges away, sliding it smoothly into a pocket of her bag. The Elite Four, huh? She was definitely a force to be reckoned with, but Volkner was the strongest Gym Leader in all of Sinnoh. If she could ignite a fire in that guy's heart again, then I would believe that she could make it to the Elite Four. To me.

"Well, the Gym Leader is Volkner. He's in a bit of a slump right now, so you won't find him at his Gym. He's been renovating his Gym for awhile just because he's been so bored, and when the blackout happened, he just lost interest completely." I looked over to the Vista Lighthouse where I had just come from. Volkner wasn't listening to me anymore, so someone else needed to help him. "So, I need you to show him a battle so hot that you'll get that fire started again."

"Me?" She pointed to herself, as if I were asking anyone else. I just laughed, and she blushed again, her cheeks turning a rosy color that almost matched her jacket. "Well, I don't plan on losing, that's for sure. I'll help him anyway that I can!" She nodded, the determination back in her eyes. I didn't think she would lose, either.

So, I winked at her, smiling because I knew she could do it. "See you around, then."

* * *

When I saw Volkner entering my room at the Pokémon League, I thought she had failed. I actually felt my heart sink, a sick feeling in my stomach. Had I overestimated Dawn's abilities? Was she not the girl who single-handedly stopped Team Galactic and captured Giratina? It wasn't often that I was wrong (well, not according to Volkner).

"You're challenging the Elite Four, then? You decided that quickly?" I asked as he casually strolled closer, hands in his pockets. "Dude, I think you really just need to go back to your Gym. I mean, otherwise you just renovated it for nothing, right? I'm sure someone worthy will come along someday, but you need to wait for them."

"She did," Volkner said softly, and I almost didn't hear him. But when he repeated himself, my sunken heart rose again, and my chest burned. "Some little girl named Dawn came and challenged me. Gave me a real shock." He laughed, taking one hand out of his pocket and rubbing the back of his head. "I didn't expect that she'd beat me, but she rolled me up and tossed me aside like I was nothing. She's strong, man."

I grinned, putting a hand on Volkner's shoulder. He looked up at me, laughing once again. "She'll probably be here soon, so I just wanted to warn you. I can't see her losing to a pathetic soul like you," he joked, and I shoved him away, dropping my arm to my side. "Flint, she's inspired me. I have to train some more if I'm ever going to beat her." He backed away from me, pointing a finger at me. "You're going to need to do that, too."

"Yeah," I said, watching as Volkner left the room. "Good going, Dawn."

* * *

Two days was all it took for her to make it to me. Victory Road usually slowed all the Trainers down for at least four days, and most of them never even made it to the League. But she made it in two and walked right into the League without hesitation. Aaron and Bertha were no match for her. I doubted I'd be.

She was beaming at me as she hurried into the room, practically prancing up to me like a Stantler. She held out her hand to me again, bouncing like she did the first time we met. I laughed at her, simply amused by the girl's fiery passion. She was like no girl I had ever met before, fearless and strong at the early age of twelve.

"Hey, Flint! Told you I'd make it here! Are you excited or what?"

"Yo, Dawn." She continued to smile, reaching into her bag and pulling out a Poké Ball before I even had a chance to say anything. "You know, I heard from Volkner what you did in Sunyshore. You managed to light a fire in that guy's heart again. And you think I'm not excited to battle you? You got my best friend back on his feet."

She just shrugged, the smile on her face weakening a little bit. "Yeah, but don't go easy on me just because I helped Volkner out. Besides, I didn't really do anything. All I did was battle him the same way I battled everyone else. The same way I'm going to battle you. So, Flint, you have to give it your all! Don't let me down now!"

I grabbed one of my Poké Balls and threw it out towards her. "I wasn't planning on it."

* * *

I lost miserably. Probably more miserably than Volkner lost. Honestly, I hadn't planned on losing to Dawn even though Volkner had warned me about her strength. But there was something about her, that fire in her, that was just incredible. She could put up a fight even against our Champion Cynthia. I didn't doubt it.

And she did. She beat Cynthia, becoming the youngest Champion the Sinnoh region had ever seen. I couldn't help but admire the girl for all she could do. Her kind spirit, her fire, her strength. And only at the age of twelve, too! It was amazing!

I saw her again a couple months later. We battled again, and I lost again. It seemed like the girl was unstoppable, and even when I leveled up, she leveled up even more. There was nothing I could do to beat her, but I had to keep trying, anyway. I just wanted to watch her flames grow. Even a double battle with Volkner and me against her was no match. She wiped the floors with us.

Then, she vanished. She stopped coming back to the League, and whenever Volkner and I visited her villa in northern Sinnoh, she was never there. She never visited the Battle Frontier, and my brother Buck hadn't seen her roaming around, either. She was nowhere to be seen, and so I forgot about her.

A little.

Or maybe not at all.

* * *

Years and years passed without a word from Dawn. Volkner spent his time at the Gym fighting new challengers, though he would complain that none had the same talent that Dawn had. I relaxed at the League, waiting for anyone to come and battle. But none of them stood a chance against me. No one ever did except Dawn.

It was rare that I ever got bored as I usually had something to amuse me, but without Dawn around, I'd started to lose interest in things. Picking on Volkner was always the best way to have fun, but he'd been catching on to most of my tricks lately. He found amusement in spoiling my schemes, while I was stuck at the League trying to come up with new ways of acting immature in between battles. It was harder than I thought.

"Flint!"

Volkner hurried into my room, and I hid my latest prank behind my back, smiling innocently and whistling. Not exactly subtle, but I figured Volkner would just roll his eyes and move on with his life without a care. He usually saved the snooping for later, once I had actually finished building whatever contraption it was.

"Dawn's come back to Sinnoh. Apparently she had been exploring the other regions, but she got injured in Johto at some mountain called Mt. Silver." I swallowed, feeling that same sinking feeling that I had felt when I thought Dawn had lost to Volkner. "She's kind of given up battling or something. Those are the rumors, anyway. Can't really believe that, can you?"

I was surprised at myself at how _angry_ I got hearing this. Who did she think she was? How could she just _give up_ like that? She wasn't Volkner. And what was she doing on Mt. Silver? She was so young. Didn't she know stuff like that was dangerous?

I was even more surprised that I went looking for her. I just felt so mad at her that I needed to yell at her, to call her a fool, to let her know that I had been worried. That I hadn't forgotten about her, after all, and that she was the stupidest little girl I had ever met in my entire life. She had burned me, and she had burned me deep.

But when I found her at her home in Twinleaf, I discovered that she wasn't that little girl anymore. In all those years, she had grown up into a beautiful young lady, baby fat in her cheek gone and hips and a chest… though still bruised and cut up… and no longer determined. That was the scariest change: the fire in her eyes was gone.

I wasn't one so easily embarrassed, but I found myself blushing when I entered her room unannounced, barging in like I owned the place. And her beauty caught me a little off guard, so when she stared at me, I had to drop my gaze like a fool. I was already a fool, wasn't I?

Yet I looked up again as she stood up from her seat on the bed, crossing my arms and narrowing my eyes at her. "Are you stupid or something?" I demanded, and she frowned at me.

"Flint?"

"Do you have any idea how worried everyone has been about you? I mean, me and Volkner… we didn't know where you went. How could you just leave like that and not even tell us where you were going? And climbing Mt. Silver is stupid! You're not some big ol' guy who can do stuff like that! You shouldn't have done that!" I shouted at her, feeling a flame in my chest heat up.

She wobbled towards me, and I didn't miss the limp. I stared at her leg, a huge cast taking the place of one of those cute little pink boots she used to wear. "Flint, I'm sorry. There was an emergency in Hoenn, and I didn't have time to tell you before I left. Then, once I was there, I just… explored the world. If I made you worry, I'm sorry."

I raised an eyebrow, my red afro bouncing as I tilted my head. "You didn't have time to call? Or write a note? In six years, you never thought to tell anyone in Sinnoh where you were?"

She crossed her arms, looking annoyed now. "Who are you, my father? I don't need you telling me what to do or where I should go. I'm eighteen; you don't need to babysit me. I can take care of myself."

I laughed dryly, spinning around and throwing my hands up in the air. "Well, sorry for being concerned. That leg of yours… you really know how to take care of yourself, don't you?" I sighed, rolling my eyes. "I'm outta here. Sorry for stopping by."

"Flint, come on," she said, and I stopped as I reached the door. "I appreciate the concern, but—"

"You can take care of yourself. I know." I turned my head just enough to see her vacant expression, but that was enough for me. "Oh, and if you've really given up battling, then you're not the Dawn I remember. You can't set fire to anyone's heart anymore. You can only burn and scar them. Keep that in mind."

I left. I didn't see her again.

* * *

Things were getting old. As I neared my twenty-seventh birthday, I really began to question what I was doing with my time. Buck was quickly becoming well-known Trainer throughout Sinnoh, where I was just the older brother in the Elite Four. Bertha had moved on from the League as a member of the Elite Four, replaced by an old Gym Leader from Unova. Everyone was moving up, and I was stuck where I was. Bored.

It wasn't often anymore that a Trainer came to challenge the Elite Four. Dawn had struck a match in the region when she first became Champion, and everyone had swarmed the League. But now that everyone had found out that our Champion had given up, things slowed down again. No one wanted to even try if the Champion didn't.

But on the rare occasion a Trainer would come and challenge us. They were usually pompous jerks who thought they were all-that and most couldn't get past Aaron. It was rare that I got to battle anyone, so I continued my pranks on Volkner. He didn't even try to stop me anymore. It was really no fun at all.

So, when I received word that a powerful Trainer had shown up at the Pokémon League and had defeated the two members in front of me, I couldn't help but get a little excited. The fire I had been waiting for was here! But it really meant nothing if they couldn't beat the Champion—she wasn't around anymore.

"Yo, Flint."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, my heart pounded in my chest. I furrowed my eyebrows, confused as to why this was happening to me, and crossed my arms. This only made my cheek heat up obnoxiously, and I turned my head so she couldn't notice.

"What are you doing here, Dawn?" I asked, intending for my voice to sound bitter, but it only came out softly. When I finally looked at her, she wasn't smiling, but her eyes were lit up again. Was the fire back in her? "I thought you'd given up battling. Or are you here for something else?"

"Someone changed my mind," she admitted, and I dropped my arms. She walked closer to me, and though her cast was now gone, the limp wasn't. "It's been awhile, and I had time to think. And though I hate to admit it, I think you're right. About everything." She held up her two index fingers, shaking her head at me. "But before you get cocky, just allow me to apologize. I'm sorry I never said goodbye."

"Are you saying it now?" I pursed my lips, really hoping that the answer was no. Because, even though I was still a little mad at her (and still a little surprised at how old she was now), I was hoping that she was here to stay. I was hoping she would light some more fires instead of putting out ones out.

She shook her head, and I couldn't manage to suppress a sigh. She laughed at me, and I crossed my arms again. "No. I actually came for a battle, too. It's been way too long since I kicked your butt, and I am really looking forward to winning." She smiled at me, grabbing one of her Poké Balls and holding it out in front of her.

But something was still bothering me. "Why'd you stop?"

"Oh." Her face dropped, and she took another Poké Ball out of her bag. "When I was on Mt. Silver, I went into one of the caves while it was snowing. I took my Luxray out for a bit of light… but the cave ended up collapsing. That's how I broke my leg. Luxray didn't get out, and… I never found him. No one did. So, I stopped."

Well, I felt a tad guilty for yelling at her, now.

"No, Flint! You were right. I shouldn't have stopped battling just because of that. It was a terrible way for me to cope, and I let everyone down. I let my Luxray down. I let you down." She bowed her head, sighing. "You've always been so good to me, but I was so young and immature. I'm still young and immature. I shouldn't have stopped."

"Take it from a guy who thrives on immaturity… we can all be like that. For example, when I do this—" I bent down to her level and kissed her on the cheek, smiling in spite of myself. "That is definitely me being immature. Because mature dudes my age do not kiss girls who are only eighteen."

She touched the spot on her cheek with her fingers, examining the hand with a confused expression. Whoops.

"Sure they do," she finally said with a shrug and a smile. Then, without missing a beat, she kissed me back, but it wasn't on the cheek. When her lips touched mine, I felt a blaze, a flame, a light inside of me. This little girl definitely wasn't a little girl anymore. And I was perfectly all right with that.

"Now, about that battle." I coughed, rubbing my chin. "I'm not going easy on you."

She smiled, the fire in her eyes glowing once again. "Never asked you to."

* * *

**Author's Note:** There are no Dawn/Flint fanfictions on FFN, and there is no Dawn/Flint art on dA. This officially marks the first one ever for both sites. I wonder what that says about me. I really like obscure pairings or something. Maybe I'll start a trend! Haha, I doubt it.

Actually, I really liked this one-shot. I don't often admit to liking my own work because I usually think they stink, but… this one I can deal with. So, I hope everyone else out there likes it, too, even though it's a super weird pairing that no one else likes. XD

For the record, Flint just thought of Dawn as a friend when she was twelve. Nothing creepy going on there, haha.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.


End file.
